Sir Thomas Davis

It is often noted that a Sir Thomas Davis who was a member of the board of directors of the London Company (Virginia), the Plymouth Company (Massachusetts), and later The Virginia Company, settled in Virginia. It is also often said that he is the same man who came over on the "Margaret," arriving in 1619 in Jamestown. During that same year a Thomas Davis, gent., was said to be in the Assembly of Virginia from "Martin's Brandon," and once again this data has been attributed to the same man.

It has further been noted that the father of Captain James Davis was a Sir Thomas Davis, and is so cited in Hurley's book, but other than this sparse information, I have found nothing further about a Sir Thomas Davis in England who was connected with the London Company et. al. Or any documented connection of him as the father of Captain James Davis. I question whether the data found is about just one man or perhaps data mixed up amongst two or three different Thomas Davises who came to Virginia in the early 1600s. I have found a lot of well-cited data about Captain James Davis but none has ever cited or proved that he had a father called Sir Thomas Davis.

Because so many seem to have Sir Thomas Davis listed as the father of Captain James Davis, I have kept the link in tact, but until I find good documentation of this relationship, I am not saying that it is an accurate piece of information. I have also never found any well-documented sons of Sir Thomas or brothers of Captain James Davis -- those who are often listed as sons/brothers are in my opinion possibly or probably sons of a Thomas Davis from England, but nothing has shown them as brothers to Captain James Davis.1

Child of Sir Thomas Davis

Citations

[S145] Davis Families of Montgomery County, Maryland by William Neal Hurley, Jr., Heritage Books, Inc., Maryland, 2001 (Our Maryland Heritage, Book 22), Notes that Sir Thomas Davis was the father of Captain James Davis, p. 37.

Captain Robert Davis

In 1583, Robert Davis of Bristol, was master of Sir Walter Raleigh's vessel, the barke 'Rawley' which sailed in Sir Humfrey Gilbert's expedition to Newfoundland. Sir Humfrey (Humphrey?) lost his life in the "Squirrel" on that voyage.1

Robert was involved in the early settlement of first Maine and then Virginia. I haven't found what ship Robert sailed from England on, but he may have been on the "Mary and John," which left England on June 1, 1607 and arrived in Sagadahoc, Maine on 19th August 1607. On that day, the 19th, he was made Sergeant Major of the newly established English colony there: Fort Sagadahoc at the mouth of the Kennebec River. For an account of the 1607 voyage to Maine and the building of that short-lived colony, click on this icon.1,2

Within the group of men at Sagadahoc at this time along with CaptainRobertDavis there was also CaptainJamesDavis and both were officers and involved in the colony's administration (Boddie). It has always been assumed there was another Davis at Sagadahoc with them, a JohnDavis, who may have been a brother. There has always been speculation as to their relationship and the following information may help to explain this confusion, not that it will actually solve the mystery of their relationship.They have often been assumed to be brothers based on a quote always credited to Captain John Smith about "a family of master mariners." The actual quotation, which seems to have been taken out of context, is the following which I found in both Thayer's book and also the Sabino book; the person speaking/writing is The Rev. Henry O. Thayer:

"Both Robert and James Davies were assigned to office in the colony administration. The former likewise, according to Strachey, was despatched to England in the Mary and John. It must be that the two, under the designations of 'Captain Davies and Master Davies,' were the officers in command of the Virginia in a voyage in 1609 to the southern colony. In the next year, Captain James Davies is reported from there as in command of 'Algernoone Fort,' at Point Comfort. Robert Davis, of Bristol, was master of Sir Walter Raleigh's vessel, the barke Rawley, which sailed in Sir H. Gilbert's expedition of 1583. (Hakluyt's Voyages, Ed. 1589, p. 684). John Smith mentions among 'those noble captains' connected with the planting of Sagadahoc, 'Robert Davis, James Davis and John Davis.' Josselyn (Chronol. Observations; Mass. Hist. Coll., 3rd Series, Vol. 3, p. 367) reports three successive voyages to the Northwest by Captain John Davis, in 1585-6-7 (Vide Life of John Davis, the Navigator, 1550-1605, by C. R. Markham (1890) ). A family of master mariners seems to be indicated."

It certainly appears to me that John Smith's comment was only about the "noble captains" and that the last comment about the "family of master mariners" was made by Henry O. Thayer commenting on not only the Davises at Sagadahoc but also the earlier Captain John Davis, the navigator. Perhaps he meant that there were a lot of Davises who were mariners but not necessarily that they were all related to one another. I also think this shows that there probably wasn't a John Davis with this group at Sagadahoc. Avant notes that there was "no proof of a close degree of relationship" amongst them, and I have to agree with Avant for the moment since I've yet to see anything to confirm or deny a family relationship.3,4,5,6

In 1609 Robert Davis sailed to North Virginia with Captain James Davis and was one of the councilors for the North Virginia Colony. He was also Master of "The Virginia" when this vessel arrived at Jamestown in 1609. For more detailed information about this period in the settling of New England and Virginia, see the account in this document relating the life and acitivies of Captain James Davis by clicking on this icon.6,1

[S64] 17th Century Isle of Wight County, VA, by John Bennett Boddie, 1938, Chapter XXIII, Captain James Davis of New England and Virginia; pp. 435.

John Davis

A John Davis has been listed for some time by many as being at Sagadahoc, Maine in 1607, when Captain James Davis and the Popham party arrived. He's been mentioned as a brother to Captain James Davis. I'm having real doubts about a John Davis being there at all at this point. I think the John Davis referred to by some might be Captain John Davis, the Navigator, mentioned below.1

Within the group of men at Sagadahoc at this time were CaptainJamesDavis and CaptainRobertDavis who were officers and involved in the colony's administration (Boddie). Many have also concluded there was another Davis there too, JohnDavis. There has always been speculation as to their relationship and the following information may help to explain this confusion, not that it will actually solve the mystery of their relationship.They have often been assumed to be brothers based on a quote always credited to Captain John Smith about "a family of master mariners." The actual quotation, which seems to have been taken out of context, is the following which I found in both Thayer's book and also the Sabino book; the person speaking/writing is The Rev. Henry O. Thayer:

"Both Robert and James Davies were assigned to office in the colony administration. The former likewise, according to Strachey, was despatched to England in the Mary and John. It must be that the two, under the designations of 'Captain Davies and Master Davies,' were the officers in command of the Virginia in a voyage in 1609 to the southern colony. In the next year, Captain James Davies is reported from there as in command of 'Algernoone Fort,' at Point Comfort. Robert Davis, of Bristol, was master of Sir Walter Raleigh's vessel, the barke Rawley, which sailed in Sir H. Gilbert's expedition of 1583. (Hakluyt's Voyages, Ed. 1589, p. 684). John Smith mentions among 'those noble captains' connected with the planting of Sagadahoc, 'Robert Davis, James Davis and John Davis.' Josselyn (Chronol. Observations; Mass. Hist. Coll., 3rd Series, Vol. 3, p. 367) reports three successive voyages to the Northwest by Captain John Davis, in 1585-6-7 (Vide Life of John Davis, the Navigator, 1550-1605, by C. R. Markham (1890) ). A family of master mariners seems to be indicated."

It certainly appears to me that John Smith's comment was only about the "noble captains" and that the last comment about the "family of master mariners" was made by Henry O. Thayer commenting on not only the Davises at Sagadahoc but also the earlier Captain John Davis, the navigator. Perhaps he meant that there were a lot of Davises who were mariners but not necessarily that they were all related to one another. I also think this shows that there probably wasn't a John Davis with this group at Sagadahoc. Avant notes that there was "no proof of a close degree of relationship" amongst them, and I have to agree with Avant for the moment since I've yet to see anything to confirm or deny a family relationship.2,3,4,5

[S64] 17th Century Isle of Wight County, VA, by John Bennett Boddie, 1938, Chapter XXIII, Captain James Davis of New England and Virginia; pp. 435.

Anne Culver

b. circa 1725/26

AnneCulver was born circa 1725/26. She married ThomasDavis, son of RichardDavis and RuthWarfield, between 1743/44 and 1746. Sources give Anne Culver as wife of this Thomas. Anne Arundel County Church Records show: "A. Davis, wife of Thomas buried 1713/14 All Hallows Parish." (The dates would indicate that it was a different Thomas Davis who was married to that Anne Culver.) [Unclear where this specific source came from]. Anne was Thomas' second wife, and the one by whom he had children (Hurley).1

The will of Thomas Culver of Frederick County was written November 7, 1758, in which he provides for certain payments to Drusilla Davis, eldest daughter of his sister Anne Davis.2

Citations

[S145] Davis Families of Montgomery County, Maryland, p. 64. A bit confusing that Sarah's son Thomas Griffith would inherit "the Sappington estate" since Sarah is named as a daughter of Thomas and second wife Anne Culver Davis, not Thomas' first wife Mary Sappington.

Citations

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.

— Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator, 1890

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue. An everlasting vision of the ever-changing view.

— Carole King "Tapestry"

Life is simply a collection of memories, but memories are like star light...They live on Forever.

— C. W. McCall

Life does not cease to be funny when people die; anymore than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.

— George Bernard Shaw

Epitaph: An inscription on a tomb showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effect.

— Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"

Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it.

— William Somerset Maugham

All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.

— Pink Floyd, "Breathe"

The true beloveds of this world are in their lover's eyes lilacs opening, ship lights, school bells, a landscape, remembered conversations, friends, a child's Sunday, lost voices, one's favorite suit, autumn and all seasons, memory, yes it being the earth and water of existence, memory.

— Truman Capote, "Other Voices, Other Rooms"

Life is eating us up. We all shall be fables presently. Keep cool: it will be all one a hundred years hence.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Death should not be seen as the end but as a very effective way to cut down expenses.

— Woody Allen

Information for this website is based on some 90 years of research, starting in the 1920s and 1930s with two of my great grandmothers Rozina Phebe Fairchild Davis and Ella S. Gregg Bean. Sources are published here if I have them, however there is much that has not been proven and has yet to be verified. As time goes on, I continually update, edit, and correct data when mistakes and/or new sources are found, and new data has turned up. I am sorry to say that those who have copied large and small chunks of my data over the years, which I have subsequently corrrected, now have and are passing along inaccurate data to others who copy them. Please verify any information you might use for your own records as there's a lot I can't guarantee to be correct. I would appreciate hearing if you find any connections to your own research, would like to share information, or about any errors or omissions you find in my data.